Despite many
Nebraskans obsession with the
Huskers and all the scary sports
paraphernalia in their yards, Omaha is quite a wonderful town. In fact, I kind of consider it my third home. This past summer I lived in
LaVista, NE which is a
suburb of Omaha, and I definitely had a most amazing time. With this node I just want to point out some of the great things there are in Omaha.
I'll start with one of my most favorite topics, food. Of course, Omaha has an abundance of restaurants, almost anything your stomach could desire. Two of my favorite food discoveries in Omaha were an amazing donut shop and a quaint little mexican restaurant.
Donut Stop
Besides Muncher's Bakery in Lawrence, KS this place is the best donut shop I have ever encountered. It's located downtown on 13th Street. It's open all night and the donuts are fuckin' cheap and delicious.
Trini's
Located in the Old Market Passageway, is this wonderful mexican food restaurant. I don't know what their specialities are I just know it's a really great little place and the food is awesome.
This brings us to the subject of the Old Market. The Old Market is in Downtown Omaha. It's packed with a multitude of great little shops, galleries, and restaurants. You cannot visit Omaha and not go to the Old Market. Thanks to my boyfriend I became very familiar with some wonderful music shops in the Old Market; the Antiquariam and Drastic Plastic. Both of these places are must sees for any vinyl enthusiast. Because my boyfriend was in a band,I was also introduced to the Nebraska Hardcore scene this summer. There are tons of awesome local bands in and from Omaha. Just to name a few (this list is from my experience listening to my boyfriend talk about music all the time and attending various hardcore shows):
Caught in the Fall (my boyfriend's band), Alter Ego, Plosion (I'm not sure if they're still together), The Faint, Bright Eyes (and there are other Conner Oberst permeatations running around out there as well), Sutter Cane
This list doesn't even scratch the surface of all the bands in Omaha; it's just the bands that came to my mind while writing this. If you want to see live music in Omaha, the only place I can refer you to now is the Ranch Bowl, a bar and bowling alley that has live music several nights a week.
Onto a musical subject that I know I little more about, the rave (party) scene in Omaha. It is there despite some huge problems that the scene has had to overcome. Although the scene is struggling, it is really awesome and Omaha has a wealth of talented DJs. To name a few and the kind of music they spin...
Zak C - two step
Dot Com - booty house (also known as Ghetto house)
Kaoss - Drum n' Bass
Nujack - Happycore
For the rest of you that prefer more mainstream entertainment, there’s lots of fun stuff in Omaha. If you like shopping there are four shopping malls in the greater Omaha area. These would be Oakview, Westroads, Crossroads, and Southroads. I would suggest Oakview or Westroads because I really think they’re better malls, but whatever you like.
If you like animals, there’s the Henry Doorly Zoo. This is an awesome zoo, and definitely worth visiting. For those into theater and art, there is the Jocelyn Art Museum and the Orpheum Theater. During the summer there is also the Shakespeare on the Green production where a group presents different Shakespeare plays outside in a park. The location of this escapes me at the moment. Speaking of outside, if you like camping, boating, horseback riding, or any stuff like that Mahoney State Park is located about 30 minutes west of Omaha and is a great day or weekend destination. They have this awesome indoor playground with no age or height limits. Of course if you like sports, Rosenblatt Stadium hosts the College World Series every year. Omaha also has an Arena football team, the Omaha Beef.
These are only the things I could think of off the top of my head. Omaha is a wonderful city, and if you just look there’s a ton of stuff to do. I suggest that if you’re ever in the area check it out; it’s great.